Twin cities plan breakfast, parade to celebrate July 4th

It will be another glorious Fourth in the twin cities with a day full of activities in Bangor and Brewer on Monday, July 4.

The Bangor Kiwanis Club will hold its annual pancake breakfast 6-10 a.m. at the Brewer Auditorium.

The Fourth of July Parade, led by the Maine Troop Greeters as grand marshals, will begin at 11 a.m. at the corner of Acme Road and Wilson Street in Brewer.

The parade, “with 85 units and 1,300 participants,” said parade organizer Doug Damon of Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis, will follow the traditional route down Wilson Street, across the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge, then take a right onto Main Street in Bangor.

The reviewing stand will be at West Market Square downtown.

The parade will proceed along State Street and turn right onto Exchange Street to disband by the bank.

Some 300 World War II veterans are expected to march together, the sixth year in a row. The group of veterans, most now in their 80s, will be led by married couples who both served in World War II.

At the reviewing stand, the vets raise the World War II walking sticks they were given a few years ago by Cole Land Transportation Museum and Peavey Manufacturing of Eddington.

The vets have said it is the only parade where hands clap continually from start to finish as veterans pass by.

A First Student bus will accompany World War II veterans, transporting those who can’t march or picking up those who run out of energy before the end of the parade. The group also will be bused back to Brewer after the parade.

Museum founder Galen Cole said the museum’s World War II jeep and bell from the era will again take part in the parade. Children who visit the museum like to ring the bell, he pointed out, and they may ring it on July 4 at 10 a.m. next to the swimming pool on Wilson Street in Brewer. Each child will receive a card indicating that he or she has rung the bell.

Just prior to the parade, runners in the Walter Hunt Memorial Race will lead things off at 10:45 a.m. in Brewer, following the parade route.

The Coast Guard cutter Tackle will be docked at the waterfront in Bangor.

The Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau will give the “Tommyknockers and More” bus tour, based on Stephen King’s books, at 2 p.m. beginning at the waterfront. Advance tickets, $10 each, are required and may be obtained by calling the CVB at 947-5205.

The Bangor Band will offer a free patriotic concert at 7 p.m. in Paul Bunyan Park on Main Street. Joining the band will be the local children’s choir.

Fireworks over the Penobscot River will begin at 9:30 p.m.

For those who wish to watch the fireworks from the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge, the bridge will open at 7 p.m. The fee of $1 a person will help defray the cost of next year’s fireworks.

To sign up to join the Fourth of July Parade, call Doug Damon at 942-6310.